Web-linked camera devices that support downloadable client applications continue to proliferate. Such devices include, for example, smart phones and tablet computers, among others. These devices can run applications which utilize augmented reality technology to provide information on demand, often in a multimedia manner, about a scene or object being viewed with the camera. For example, if a user on a city street points his device such that the camera views a historic building, the application can identify the building being imaged by the device and superimpose on the device display text that explains the history of the building. Or, the application can superimpose on the device display a video clip that shows scenes of the building as it looked 50 or 100 years ago, or a clip that shows the changes in the building that occurred from time to time over a period of years. As another example, the user may point his device at a particular story in the newspaper, and then a video report about the events described in the story can be presented.